All That You Are
by GRAY SKIES AHEAD
Summary: She was a smoker and a drinker, maybe even partied too hard. And he was one of the few people that didn't want to change her. AU
1. Chapter 1

**All That You Are**

_Summary_; She was a smoker and a drinker, maybe even partied too hard. And he was one of the few people that didn't want to change her. AU

_Warning_; Just a warning to younger viewers, there is tons of swearing in this, maybe not this chapter but in general this story will contain lots and lots of swearing. There will be violence, not much, but there will be some. There will be drinking, partying, minor sexual content--meaning groping and talking about sex, etc. Smoking will be in almost every chapter. There might even be drugs and cutting as well. There will be talk about eating disorders, and lots of family issues, one or a few chapters might have abuse. And teenage pregnancy is mentioned in the story as well. So please, if you find a problem with reading these, you have been warned.

_Disclaimer_; I do not have any ownership in the Naturo anime or manga, I am simply a girl trying to write a good story for people to enjoy.

_Author's Note_; Just so everyone is clear, this is a very AU story. Also this chapter, like in most stories, is the backbone chapter, meaning everything that is in this chapter is important to the plot, characters or is explaining something. The next two chapters (chapters two and three) will most likely be similar in that context, just because if you have no sense of who the characters are before then you will have every little sense of how they've changed and grown or fallen down, etc.

* * *

"You know you really should stop," Tenten said as she peered over the top of her gossip magazine. "I thought you were trying to shake that habit."

Sakura looked at her and rolled her eyes. "Right, like that is going to happen," she said, continuing what she was doing before, and that was lighting her cigarette. She took the cigarette between her thumb and her index finger and pulled it away from her face, breathing out the smoke. "I really tried to quit, it was just too hard and not for me," she told her best friend, raising the cigarette back up to her mouth.

Tenten wrinkled her nose, she wanted to be a nurse when she was older and graduated from college, she might even what to be a physical therapist or something along those lines. "At least try not to blow the smoke at me if you're going to do that."

"At least we're outside," Sakura said lightly, leaning back in her pool chair. This was how most of the summer days went for Sakura, she would sit outside with Tenten, listening to the hum of cars go by on the street as they lounged by the pool, gossiping about what they were going to do now that they were seniors.

Tenten set her gossip magazine down and sighed lightly, standing up. "I'm going to get some nail polish to paint my toe nails," she told Sakura before going to enter her house.

Sakura let out another puff of smoke, placing the cigarette back on her lips. She never thought that she would be a smoker, then again she never really thought that she would have gotten her stomach pumped twice before she was even eighteen. Sakura had always been the more capable of the two of them, she had always been the one person to take control. She lived her life the way she wanted to.

But then, much to her dismay, her parents split. She was angry at first, depressed and confused. And she went off and started to drink vodka straight and smoke cigarettes. Tenten was really the only person that had been there for her. Sure there was other people that she could talk to but there was really no one like Tenten.

Sakura and Tenten had been next door neighbors for as long as Sakura could remember, they never really talked when they were younger. Sakura hung out with the 'popular crowd' or the 'private school crowd' and they were needless to say, very straight laced. Sakura's parents had money, and Tenten's did not. Which was why Tenten found herself in public schooling. Sakura started going to Konoha Community School when she was a sophomore, and when she had to ask Tenten for a ride to school one winter morning because her car was in the shop, the two became friends. And about a year or so ago they started calling one another; best friends.

Tenten had been the only person that asked Sakura if she was okay, when they first started being friends, maybe even before that, Tenten just asked Sakura if she wanted to talk about it. Of course Tenten knew that Sakura's parents were no longer together. But Sakura was grateful for having Tenten in her life. She always made Sakura feel better about herself when things were bad.

The brunette opened the patio door, stepping out and shutting it behind her. She sat back down in the chair she had been sitting in a few minutes before. Then she took a hair tie and quickly put her long brown hair back away from her face. "I brought out gold and navy because, well that's our school colors and the big football game is tonight," Tenten reminded her, as if Sakura really needed reminding of that. "Here," she said, holding out the navy polish to Sakura.

Sakura took one last puff of her cigarette, and then tossed it on the patio, crushing it with the heel of her foot. "Remind me why we are going," Sakura asked her, uncapping the dark polish. "Because I thought when I told you I didn't want to go you said 'that's fine'."

Tenten looked up at Sakura. "You're really still mad about that."

"Who wouldn't be Tenten; he went off and slept with some tramp. And _got her pregnant_! That's a total shoe-in to be mad at him for as long as I want to be," Sakura retorted bitingly. She started to paint her toe nails, carefully not trying to get any on parts that weren't her toes. "He cheated Tenten, and I can't forgive him for that."

"Sakura, I know that he betrayed you. I know he did, but… maybe you should play the field now, stop trying to fall for the bad boys. The players. It wasn't Sasuke's fault, I think it's just his personality. And you were in a state of weakest and he took control of that," Tenten said, bending over as far as she could to blow on her toes. "Besides it's been seven months now since you two broke up. I think you should move on, it's what's best."

The pink haired girl looked at her friend, who was concentrating on her toes at the moment. "Tenten," she said slowly "I loved him." She paused. "But I think that you're right. It's time for a change. I need to get over him. It wasn't like he was my only boyfriend I mean there was, Gaara, which ended okay, I mean I still talk to him. Then was Lee, which was more or less a pity thing. After Lee there was Shikamaru and I am still close friends with him, wouldn't you say."

"Yeah, he eats with us at lunch sometimes. He comes to most of your parties, he eats most of the food and sleeps but yeah I would say you are friends with him still. Kind of like how I am still friends with Neji, even though we really don't go out of our way to hang out we still talk kindly to one another. Just not so much with Hideo anymore," she said, rolling her eyes at the thought of her first boyfriend who tried to get her into having public sex with him constantly. "Best day of my life was breaking up with him."

"I second that," Sakura said and the two of them both shared a laugh. "I'm not sure what I am going to do once summer is gone, and then before you know it, the school year will be gone too."

Tenten looked up at her best friend and frowned. "Let's not think about that too much okay? I don't want to think about what I have to do without you."

"Yeah, I know the feeling," Sakura said, bending down to blow on her toes. She didn't want to think about what would happen after high school was over and Tenten went away to become some medical person saving lives and Sakura would go to college on a Track and Field scholarship.

"I hope this year is fun," Tenten said with a smile crossing her face. "I want it to be filled with memories of my senior year. I don't want to go telling my children that their mother had no life in high school because that is really not what I want at all. I really just want to have fun and share it with my best friend."

"It better be me that you are talking about," Sakura said with a chuckle. But then she started to frown. "Do you think she'll be there?"

"Who?"

"Ino."

"Oh, I don't know, I don't talk to her for you know obvious reasons. But I don't know. I am guessing that she would be, she was on the cheerleading team last year, and she might be this year. She was supposed to have her baby some time ago, like three months or so. I think I heard the lady's at the Food Mart gossiping about how she named her Hana and gave her away to a nice family from somewhere out East. And why are you smiling so much."

She couldn't help but laugh. Tenten was big on being the good girl and Sakura knew that and she really didn't have that big of a problem with her friend being that way at all. "It's just amazing to me that you know all of this."

Tenten sighed. "It's a gift and a curse, sometime my Mom comes home and starts gossiping about all this stuff that I really don't care about but whatever, it's nice to know what goes on around this town. Like how if you write your initials under the bridge and the park that goes over Konoha River, you and your love will be together forever."

"Okay, that is a myth. I tried it with Shikamaru and we are not together."

Tenten shrugged her thin shoulders. "Whatever that is what I heard and I am just telling you what I heard."

"Fine, now come over here and do my nails, I screw up if it do them."

---

"Sakura put it out," Tenten scolded, pulling on her best friend's arm as the duo walked toward the bright field lights and the sound of the pep band playing in the background. "Come on, we're on school grounds and if you get caught this is going to be terrible."

Sakura blew out a puff of smoke, letting it trail behind her. "Oh, we're not even there yet. Chill out Tenten." She laughed half heartedly and raised the cigarette back to her mouth inhaling as she did so.

Tenten tugged on her arm again, trying to get her best friend to stop. "Sakura, come on please, put it out already. We're in the fucking parking lot for God's sake." Tenten's voice was filled with worry as they both approached the ticket booth. Sakura knew that she was worry or stressed, because Tenten never really swore unless she was worried or stress. "Please."

"Fine, fine," Sakura said to her friend, flicking the cigarette out and making sure that she stepped on it. As they made their way to the ticket booth they walked up to a silver haired man. "Kakashi-sensei, in the hoooouse." Sakura said, with a laugh shared on her part and Tenten's part.

The teacher frowned at them slightly. "ID's please," he asked of them, holding out his hand.

"Oh right, of course," Tenten said, digging in her purse to pull out her school ID.

Sakura reached into her back pocket, not bothering to bring more than five dollars and her ID to the Football game. But her pack of cigarettes that she begged to have Tenten put in her purse was besides the point, besides, if Tenten got caught with them both of them would be toast, but Tenten had slipped them away into a zip in pocket and placed her iPod over it.

"Alright you are free to go in," Kakashi said with a forced smile, handing both of them back their ID cards. "Have fun."

Tenten and Sakura both took back their ID's and smiled at him, walking into the gates of the Football stadium. "We have to hurry," Tenten said to her with a smile. "The game is going to start in," she glanced over at the light up game board "three minutes and twenty eight seconds, well about."

"We're fine Tenten," Sakura reassured her best friend. "Just calm down, it's a Football game."

The two walked under the bleachers, making their way to the stands were the high school students were jumping up and down on the bleachers, cheering for the Konoha Pirates before the game had even started. Everyone loved the Konoha high school football spirit, it was fun to go to the games even if you had no idea what was going on like half of the female student body.

Sakura and Tenten climbed the stairs of the bleachers, Tenten looked around, not seeing a space big enough for her and Sakura to squeeze into. "Hey Nobu," she said, tapping the shoulder of one the boys leaning on the railing.

"Tenten, Sakura, hey," he said to her with a smile, pulling Tenten into a hug and then Sakura into one, lifting her off the ground slight, probably because she was fairly smaller than Tenten, by about two sizes and four inches.

"Can you do me a small favor," Tenten asked him with a pleading look on her face, holding up her hand, about an inch separating her thumb and index finger as if to show Nobu how small that her favor was. "So can you?"

Nobu smiled at Tenten. "Sure I can, depending on what it is."

"Get us some seats?"

He nodded his head, trying to the crowded student section. "You," he said, pointing a group of two guys on the second row up. "What year are you,"

"Um sophomores," one of them answered for the two of them, receiving an elbow from the other, who muttered 'dipshit'.

"To the back," he said, pointing to the back of the bleachers. "Maybe when you are seniors you can sit in the front." Nobu said to them, looking at them harshly. He knew as well as anyone that was listening in that they would move for him, Nobu was a bigger guy, taller than most as coming in at about six foot five, and he was about two hundred some pounds. He was a baseball player, they had wanted him to play football but he shot them down claiming that it just wasn't for him.

"Dipshit you shouldn't have said anything," the one who had just recently jabbed his elbow into his friend's side. "Now we have to move," he grumbled as the two of them got up and walked to the top of the bleachers.

He looked back at Tenten with a grin on his face. "There you are Tenten; just ask if you need anything else.

"Thanks Nobu," she replied as she and Sakura made their way to their seats. "I kind of felt bad for them, but not really because we all know that it has happened to-"

Sakura knew that Tenten probably said more, but she couldn't hear her over the roar of the crowd that erupted in their chests.

"TEN… NINE… EIGHT… SEVEN… SIX… FIVE… FOUR… THREE… TWO… ONE… GAMETIME!" The crowd started to jump up and down, cheering loudly as the pep band began to start playing the school song.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen," the voice over the loudspeakers came, "welcome to the Konoha Football Field, home of the Pirates!"

A massive amount of cheers broke out amongst the student body.

"Tonight the Konoha Pirates will be going head to head against the Suna Sharks, in both teams opening season games. Now the starting lineup for the Suna Sharks. At-"

And loud clash of 'boos' and 'you suck' came from the student body from Konoha. Sakura couldn't even hear the announcer; well she was sure that she could have heard him if she really tried listening to him.

"And know for the main event, the starting lineup for the Konoha Pirates. Uchiha Sasuke!"

Sakura swallowed, watching her ex boyfriend run out onto the field, pumping his fists in the air. "I hope he gets crushed," she muttered to herself, knowing that no one was really going to hear her over the roar of the crowd.

The starting lineup continued to be called for Konoha and the kick opened the game, with Suna getting the ball, and it was pretty much back and forth for a long time. Sakura really tried to stay focused but most of the time she would just watch them run around and picture Sasuke getting crushed in her head.

At half time the score looked a little something like 14 Suna and 20 Konoha, a close game that either team could pull forward and win in. So Sakura was a little lacking in the school spirit. She had dressed up, painted her toe nails navy blue and her fingernails gold. She was wearing gold gym shorts that covered her knees and she was wearing a navy blue shirt with gold print letters on it that said. Konoha Pirates, with a pirate right on the front and on the back it read; we'll make you walk the plank! It was Sakura's most worn shirt that she had gotten the summer before her sophomore year.

With about eight minutes in the game left Sakura tapped Tenten's shoulder, her best friend looked at her, smiling slightly. "Yeah?"

"I'm going to get something to eat."

"Alright," she said, and then turned her attention back to the game.

Sakura stepped off of her spot, walking back to the concession stands, where the smell of popcorn and hotdogs filled the air. This was her favorite part about coming to the game by far, the hotdogs and the popcorn, the food in other words. Sakura stood in line, digging a dollar out of her pocket.

"I can help you," an older woman with glasses and dark brown hair said to Sakura with a smile.

Sakura smiled back at her, walking over to her. "Can I just have one hotdog please," she ordered, laying her money flat on the counter.

"Sure dear," she answered to Sakura, taking her dollar and went over to get her a hotdog, and returned in a few seconds. "Here you are dear."

"Thanks," Sakura said, as she walked over to the table with the ketchup and mustard. She set her hotdog down, grabbing the ketchup and drowning her hotdog in it. She loved ketchup, so much that it was dripping outside of her bun. She closed the cap on the ketchup. And picked up her hotdog and turned around quickly.

Before she knew it, her hotdog was squished between her and a tall boy. He stepped back and Sakura looked down, ketchup smeared all over her shirt.

"I'm so sorry," the boy said quickly, grabbing some napkins, and handing them to her. "I really didn't mean to, I can buy you a new hotdog if you like."

Sakura held up her hand as it to silence him. "No," she said shortly, wiping some of the ketchup off of her shirt, which only seemingly made it seem worse and worse. "You don't have to. It's fine, shut like this happens all of the time, you know. Shit happens," she said to him with a chuckle, glancing up at him, not really studying him.

He was tall, dark hair and eyes. He was wearing a Konoha shirt so he must have been an underclassman that Sakura really never gave the time of day to. "I really am sorry though," he said to her, handing her another handful of napkins and taking the ones that she had used that threw them away.

"Like I said it's fine," she said to him with a smile, throwing away the remaining napkins that she had used. "But I'll take your hotdog, plain this time though," she said with a laugh. It was times like these that Sakura was glad that she wasn't a bitch.

The boy looked down and frown. "I took a bite out of it," he said to her, "but if you want it."

"Makes no difference to me," she said honestly, taking the hotdog from him and smiled. "Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem I guess."

She nodded to him, breaking off the piece of his hotdog that he took a bit out of, and tossed it in the garbage can before walking back to the bleachers. When she got there Tenten eyed her up.

"What happened to you?"

---

"Sakura I'm begging you not in my car," Tenten pleaded with her best friend as Sakura dug in her purse, pulling out the pack of cigarettes and her purple lighter. She opened the carton, taking out a cigarette and held it up to her mouth, lighting it. "Do you really have to Sakura, really?"

Sakura rolled down her window before talking a drag of her cigarette. She blew the smoke outside of her window. "I think me quitting for that week made me worse."

"Tell me about it, is that like your ninth one today."

"No it's my forth."

"Wow, big difference."

"Probably is."

"Sakura, you really should quit."

"Not going to happen anytime soon."

"Not even for yourself."

"Not even for myself."

Tenten came to a stop at a red light and looked at her best friend. "You are terrible."

The pink haired girl shook her head. "Nah, just addicted." She tapped the cigarette on the top of her rolled down window before bringing the cigarette back to her mouth.

As the light changed to green Tenten punched the gas. She sighed, looking over her best friend again. "Tell me how you can afford those things again, aren't they like five dollars a punch."

More smoke was blown out the passenger side window. "My father sends money to me every month, about one hundred dollars or so, so I stick about thirty of it into my savings and the rest is for my hobbies, things like that. And when I work with that old lady… her name is Akira I think, she buys my cigarettes when I give her the money. She doesn't ask questions, just what type I want, I tell her and she gets them, in return I let her keep the change."

"By hobbies you mean smoking and drinking right."

"Pretty much what I was getting at."

A frown appeared on Tenten's face. "You really are terrible."

Sakura just shrugged her shoulders, more smoke escaping her lips. "I know I need to break the habit. I just don't want to. I know my lungs will be fucked up someday, but I haven't been smoking that long."

"And how long is that long Sakura?"

The little pink haired girl thought for a moment. "Let me see, I've been smoking about a year and seven months. Give or take a few months off there."

In truth Sakura knew it was the day that she and Sasuke had started dating. She got her to start smoking and drinking. He had wanted her to change for him; he made her what she was today. Sure she hadn't been a virgin when the two of them started dating; she had lost her virginity to Shikamaru about two months before the two broke up. Sasuke and her had been good, or so she thought. But he really just knew how to charm a girl. And Sakura at the time just wanted a boy to be there for her, or at least be there in the physical sense.

"Time to quit is now then. You're going to ruin your lungs." Tenten turned onto their street. "Throw it out we are almost home."

Sakura took one last breath of her cigarette before discarding it out the window of the car. She held the smoke in for a few seconds, before blowing it out the window as Tenten stopped in front of Sakura's driveway.

"Call me if you need anything Sakura. And if you need to stay over because of your mom or something, just let me know," she said, leaning over to give Sakura a hug but then stopped. "I'll give you your good bye hug next time, I don't want to get all of that," she said, pointing to the ketchup on Sakura's shirt "all over me."

She smiled at her best friend, shaking her head slightly. "Maybe it will do me some good, maybe it will get rid of the smell of smoke," she laughed. Sakura opened the car door, taking her lighter and carton of cigarettes in her hand. "See you tomorrow," she said as she shut the door to Tenten's car and started to make her way up her driveway. She reached up, opening the front door and letting herself in. Sakura closed and locked the door behind her, walking to the mudroom where her purse was. She slipped her light and cigarettes inside, zipping up her purse.

"Sakura dear can you come here please," a tired voice called from the kitchen.

"Just a second," she said, grabbing her purse and sliding it over her shoulder as she walked to the kitchen. "I'm here."

Her mother was currently doing dishes in the sink, not a good sign. The only time that her mother did something like that was to keep her mind off of something that was really bothering her. Her mother was a short woman, skinny and pale skin. She had big blue eyes and dark red hair. Sakura's mother wiped her hands off on a towel, turning to face her daughter. She eyed her up and a frown appeared on her face. "Where have you been looking like _that_?"

Sakura looked down at her shirt that was covered in ketchup. "The game," she told her mother, looking back up at her mother. "Why, where did you think I was."

"You really went to that game? What was the score?"

"Twenty one to twenty eight, we won."

"What time did the game get done?"

"About nine thirty."

"It's seven minutes after ten now. What took you so long?"

"Tenten went to the restroom; of course there was a line. Traffic and just driving home is what took us so long Mom."

"Are you telling me the truth?"

"Why would I lie!" Sakura pleaded with her mother.

The frown on her face deepened. "Well, because you've lied to me so many times before. It's disappointing sometimes, thinking that I raised a daughter as awful as you are to me."

"I'm awful to you," Sakura muttered between gritted teeth. "Try it the other way Mom."

Her mother was quiet for a moment or two, closing her eyes and breathing in slowly, as if to calm herself. "Have you been smoking tonight Sakura?"

"What the hell Mom, where did this come—"

"Answer the God damn question Sakura," she pressed bitingly, opening her eyes to look at her daughter. "Have you."

"Yes. I have."

Her mother's frown seemed to deepen. "You really want to smoke on that cancer stick. Do you really want to ruin your life Sakura?"

"Like you even care about that."

Silence filled the room once more. "Just don't be like your good for nothing father, and where you are going. You're heading down the same path that he was."

"I'd much rather be like him then be a stuck up bitch like you."

Her mother let a sigh, turning back to her dishes and she continued to wash them. "Go stay a Tenten's house tonight," she ordered "I don't want you over if you are going to act like a little girl."

Sakura glared at her mother before turning and heading back to her room. She grabbed a set of clothes, something to sleep in. Sakura took everything that was makeup wise from her bathroom, not forgetting a pair of shoes, high heels and a sundress. She also packed hair products and her curling iron, and even her shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and things like that.

She was just so sick of her mother. Ever since her parents split, Sakura was never really her old self. She started to smoke, drink and date Sasuke. She would lie to her mother, sneak Sasuke in through her window. She even stole money from her mother once. But Sakura thought she was getting her life back together again, maybe she was, she didn't really know if she was piecing her life back together. She hoped that she was.

Sakura packed her bag, and then grabbed her work clothes because she would be working tomorrow. She turned off the lights in her room and walked to the front door, unlocking it and slamming it behind her when she left. She didn't like her mother.

Ever since Sakura was little her mother never thought of Sakura as good enough. Her mother often would mumble to herself 'why couldn't I get the daughter I wanted' or something like 'she is just a mess. And so on. Sakura's father and mother had a falling out, her mother told the court that he was never around and the two just had their differences, she also told the court about his lack of effort to be there in Sakura's life, how he would rather go out and drink then help his daughter with homework, to get all of the control over Sakura until she was eighteen. Which was why Sakura's dad was no longer around.

To be honest, Sakura would much rather have lived with her father than her mother. At least he cared about her.

But sometimes God wasn't always kind.

* * *

_Author's Note_; Long chapter maybe, but the others will be longer. And some of you are like 'where the hell is Kiba at' well then your answer is; somewhere in this chapter. Just not a big part of it. So yeah, don't get all mad and not read afterwards. He will make his big entrance in the third chapter (or fourth). In most books, the love interest doesn't start running in until about the third, fourth or even fifth chapter, so bear with me. Comments are welcome; however I will be making the next chapter, regardless of reviews. But if you see to it that there is something that needs fixing or you just feel like commenting then go right ahead, reviews are more than welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

****

All That You Are

_Summary_; She was a smoker and a drinker, maybe even partied too hard. And he was one of the few people that didn't want to change her. AU

_Warning_; Just a warning to younger viewers, there is tons of swearing in this, maybe not this chapter but in general this story will contain lots and lots of swearing. There will be violence, not much, but there will be some. There will be drinking, partying, minor sexual content--meaning groping and talking about sex, etc. Smoking will be in almost every chapter. There might even be drugs and cutting as well. There will be talk about eating disorders, and lots of family issues, one or a few chapters might have abuse. And teenage pregnancy is mentioned in the story as well. So please, if you find a problem with reading these, you have been warned.

_Disclaimer_; I do not have any ownership in the Naturo anime or manga, I am simply a girl trying to write a good story for people to enjoy.

_Author's Note_; Holy wow, my I was lazy. Real life took a toll on me for a while, but I am back! That's for the reviews. Good to know that my story is relatable. Here is chapter two as promised.

* * *

Sakura had woken up in the morning, tired and grumpy. There was nothing more that she wanted to do at the moment then curl up into a ball and sleep. But she knew that if she told herself that she was only going to sleep for five more minutes, that those five more minutes would turn into something more like fifteen or twenty minutes. So she got up from the spare bedroom at Tenten's house, sitting up in the bed as she stretched her arms and yawned loudly. She hated waking up early. The only thing good about waking up right now that she was not at her house being 'greeted' by her mother's taunting words that lowered Sakura's self esteem.

Over the year that Tenten and Sakura had grown closer to one another Sakura had probably stayed in the spare bedroom of their house or Tenten's bedroom on the floor more so than she had in her own room. And in the spare bedroom there were clothes in the dresser drawers that belonged to Sakura. It wasn't that she forgot them there. She was storing them, in case she didn't want to go home one night or something.

The short teenager got out of bed, throwing the covers off of herself as she grabbed a her work clothes, a purple lacy bra and matching panties. She also grabbed her hair brush, shampoo, makeup and everything else that she needed to get ready in the morning. She opened her door quickly, knowing that if she tried to open it slowly that it would just squeak much more then it would if she opened it quickly. She tiptoed down the hall, she passed Tenten's room and then passed Tenten's little brother's room into the upstairs bathroom.

She striped swiftly, turning on the hot water in the shower as she jumped in. As she was in the shower, she couldn't help but have her mind wander off. It wandered to her father, who was somewhere out in Iwa or in Suna, who knew where he was now. But he had always wanted to travel and Sakura guessed in some sick twisted way of fate, he had gotten just what he had wanted; freedom to do as he pleased.

Sakura's mind also went to the subject of school. Which she was not looking forward to. There was no once of her body that wanted to go back to gross school lunches, preppy girls that thought they were the shit and asshole boys. Sure there were better parties during the school year because the word got around quicker but there was really no plus side to school, not other then the parties she really couldn't think of anything.

As the minutes ticked by she continued to think to herself. She managed to get out of the shower without her mind wandering to places that she hoped that it would stay out of. She wrapped an orange towel around her waist that matched the light peach walls in the bathroom. She shivered a little as she dried herself off, grabbing her bra and panties hurriedly. She got dressed into her work clothes, then dried her hair with a hair dryer and curled her soft pink hair with a curling iron. She finished up with her makeup, light green eyeliner, mascara and foundation and she was done. She had never been really big on eye shadow.

Sakura grabbed the clothes that lay in a mess on the bathroom floor, she grabbed her makeup and everything else, opening the door to the bathroom and exiting back down the hall to the spare bedroom where she had been staying for the time that she had been at Tenten's house. Sure she had only been there for a night but Sakura knew better than anyone that one night would turn into two and two would become three. She knew that her mother was the type of person that never forgave easily. The longest time that Sakura had ever spent at Tenten's house for her mother kicking her out so to speak had been three weeks and two days until her mother called Tenten's house and told her mother that it was okay for Sakura to come home now. But Sakura was thinking that this time might not take all that long but with her mother she just never knew.

She walked out of the room, walking to the kitchen where Tenten and her mother were gathered around the island in the center of the kitchen. Tenten was wearing her running clothes, a pair of purple shorts, a gold Konoha shirt that was for track and her shoes seemed to be discarded elsewhere because she was walking around in socks. Tenten looked up and smiled at Sakura.

"You're finally awake," she teased as she flipped over a blueberry pancake. Tenten was one of those people that only needed five hours of sleep and then she went for a run every morning and felt fully alive. She was just one of those people and Sakura thought it was amazing that her best friend could do something like that.

Tenten's mother was currently cutting strawberries on the cutting board next to her daughter. She smiled at Sakura. "It's so nice to have you here Sakura. And like I said before, anytime you need a place to stay our doors are always open. Even if my husband and I are away on business. You're more than welcome to stay. You are like family to us."

A smile appeared on Sakura's face, she loved Tenten's mom. She was just so full of life and never once in her life turned Sakura away. Tenten's mother was also gorgeous, she could have been a model if she wanted to. But she wanted to run a business and that's how she met her husband, he had helped kick her business off. Her mother was a tall woman with olive skin. She had dark gray eyes, her hair was long, wavy and thick and it was a chocolate brown color. She was probably the kindest woman Sakura had ever met. "Thanks Mrs. Li, I really feel welcome here."

Tenten's mother smiled. "I said before you can call me Naomi I have no problem with that," she told Sakura with a smile. Tenten's mother, or Naomi was very young, she was about at the age of thirty six or so, she had given birth to Tenten when she was a little over the age of nineteen. And her husband was about thirty at the time, making him nearly fifty seven now. But Sakura had never seen two more happy people in her life. They didn't have money or the big house or anything, they just had each other as corny as it may have sounded.

"Right, I'm sorry Naomi," Sakura apologized with a smile.

"Do you want a blueberry pancake or a strawberry one Sakura," Tenten asked her best friend , flipping over a strawberry pancake. "Because both will be ready soon."

"Strawberry."

"Make that two," a voice came from behind Sakura.

Sakura smiled as she saw the chair next to her on the island pull out from behind her, and in a few short second Isamu was sitting next to her. "Morning Isamu," she said to Tenten's younger brother. She could say little, but Isamu was anything but little.

He was only two years younger than Sakura and Tenten and he had about six inches or so on Tenten, making him about six foot five or so. And he had about a foot on Sakura. He also was built to the max, getting ready for his starting spot on the Konoha football defensive team. He was pretty proud of himself for making the football varsity team when he was only a sophomore.

"I'm leaving now," came a voice from the stairs and down them came Tenten's father. He hurried over to his wife, giving her a kiss on the cheek as he fumbled with his tie. "I'm going to be late if—"

"Let me help," Naomi said to him, laughing lightly at her husband as she straighten out his tie for him. "Have a wonderful day at work," she whispered, pulling him in by his tie and giving him a kiss on the lips.

He smiled at his much younger wife. "Thanks sweetie," he thanked her, looking around to see the crowd of teenagers in his kitchen. He walked over to Tenten, kissing the top of her head. "Bye pumpkin," he said to her, walking over to Sakura and gave her a hug as well. "Nice to have you Sakura, and see you son," he said, patting his son's shoulders. "Well I'm off." And with that he disappeared out the garage door.

"Bye," was all every one said in unison except Isamu who called out, "see you later."

In a lot of ways Sakura was jealous of Tenten's family. They had always had the family that Sakura had wished for. The family that did everything together, vacations and things like that. Even when she was younger Sakura's family was never really the happy one, her mother had still told Sakura that she would be nothing, that Sakura was just a waste of whatever popped into her mind. If was safe to say that Sakura envied her best friend. She envied her so much.

---

Sakura was now at work and had been for the past three hours. She had managed to get into her garage by using the key to the back garage door that was on her car key chain. Her mother was gone by the time that Sakura was in the garage, because her mother's new black car was gone and all that was there was Sakura's gray car, although it was fairly new because her father had bought it for her when she was sixteen, it still was a little dirty and wasn't the most flashy car out there.

She had parked in the back of Konoha Food Mart, the place that Tenten touched up on most of her gossip magazines as well as the gossip around town. Now three hours into her seven hour shift Sakura was at the cash register, one of the two that the food mart had. And she was currently listening to Yuuki and Airi who were talking about some girl that was going to be here that had married one of the high school graduates that had graduated last year. Sakura wondered who they were talking about but she really couldn't hear them.

"I heard that she was a real meek thing, but he was in love with her and he was suppose to marry her older sister," Yuuki said, her voice rasping a little bit. "I think it's terrible that she was married so young, sixteen, I thought was what I heard."

Airi scoffed at her gossip partner. "That's seriously terrible. How could any parents ever trade their daughter off like that? I would never have done that to one of my daughters. They mean too much to me to be set across from, where was it again, Kumo I think, well nevertheless I could never ship her off like a package to somewhere else."

Sakura couldn't help but smile, in all the year and a half that she had been working here, the two never seemed to mind their own business and just keep things to themselves, they would always go on about someone else's life and not their own. Airi was the older of the two by about six or so years, graying hair and a mole that stuck out terribly on her chin. She was shorter and a little on the chucky side, while Yuuki was tall and lean and had a full set of gray hair even though she was the younger of the two. They really were two peas in a pod.

"This is all I need," someone said shortly to Sakura to get her attention.

Sakura frowned, knowing the voice. She turned her head to look at the blonde standing in front of her. "Well, hello Ino," she said, looking at the contents that she had placed on the counter in front of Sakura. "Is this all you need today." Sakura made sure her voice was sarcastic, "or do you need to steal someone's boyfriend away too?"

Ino rolled her light blue eyes, sighing at the pink aired girl in front of her. "No actually I don't. So why don't you ring up my items and I can leave. Besides it's not my fault he would rather fuck me. I'm not the one with the oversized ass."

Sakura forced a sarcastic smile, grabbing one of the items and ringing it up, it was a bright red lipstick, matching the lipstick that Ino was currently wearing. "Well, maybe if I whored myself around and wanted to get pregnant I could have made him stick around."

"It wasn't even his," Ino insisted between gritted teeth. "I broke up with my boyfriend from Suna a week before I had sex with your boyfriend."

"Right like anyone will believe you Ino, you're a fat whore who just wants mister right now and not a long term relationship. I doubt you've ever dated someone for more than a few weeks. One month tops," Sakura said, ringing up the next two items which were the same, condoms. "These are proving my point right here." She waved the condoms before setting them down to ring up the next items, dieting pills. Sakura frowned a little, Ino was skinnier then her, even after the baby Ino was still very thin.

Ino rolled her eyes. "That's because unlike you I know what boys want. Sex. Not fake promises of love or something come completely ridiculous like that. And so what if the baby was Sasuke's it's not even mine anymore."

"So it was his."

"I don't know," Ino said rudely. "Just ring up the fucking items already. God you really are just a stupid bitch. Just like your mother."

Sakura grunted, ringing up the rest of the items. "Twenty dollars and thirteen cents is your total."

Ino handed over the money, exact change and all. She grabbed the plastic bag that all of the things that she had gotten them in. "See you at school ugly bitch nobody." And with that walked away, pulling down her shirt as she did so.

"I'm taking a break," Sakura told Airi and Yuuki as they began to gossip about the events that just happened between Sakura and Ino. She grabbed her purse and walked toward the back. It took her about two minutes before she was outside at the picnic table that the store had set out for the employees. Sakura sat down, rummaging in her purse and pulling out her pack of cigarettes, it was her first one of the day, minus the rushed one that she had in the short drive to work this morning. She pulled out her purple lighter and lit her cigarette, placing it to her mouth.

She hated that Ino. And that was probably Ino being nice, just because they were in a public place and those types of places were not meant for fighting with other people. And not customers. Ino knew that she had the upper hand because Sakura was supposed to be working. She blew out a puff of smoke, closing her eyes as she did so. She knew that smoking was terrible for her body, but it was just the way that she let things out, it relaxed her. And although she never really liked the thought of being vulnerable when she was smoking she was much more open to people.

"Got a spare," a feminine voice came as Temari walked over to Sakura, sitting down on the other side of the picnic table. "I got a light but all my cigarettes are gone."

Sakura smiled, pushing the carton of cigarettes toward her coworker. Although Temari's job was just to stock the isles with cereal when they needed it, Sakura still was close to the woman. Temari was probably six feet or a little less tall, she had sandy blonde hair and blue green eyes. She was pretty, a little on the tough looking side. She was a bitch to most of the people that didn't like her. Sakura had met her when she was dating Temari's little brother, Gaara. Temari had always seemed to like Sakura and Sakura was fond of Temari as well. "Help yourself."

Temari was already lighting up a cigarette. She was probably more of a heavy smoker then Sakura was. This was understandable, seeing that Temari was about twenty three and could afford to buy her own cigarettes. "So, the gossip around Airi and Yuuki is that you got into a fight. With Ino, or that's what I could pick up when I told them I was going on break."

Sakura sighed, tapping her cigarette on the side of the picnic table. "Yeah I did get into a verbal spar so to speak with her," she said, raising the cigarette back up to her lips as she took another meaningful drag of smoke into her mouth.

"Was it about the same thing," Temari asked, blowing out some smoke out of her mouth "about that boy."

The pink haired girl rolled her eyes. "Yeah it was about Sasuke again. I hated her for taking him away, but now I just hate her because she's a stuck up bitch that has no grasp of reality. Like she thinks she's the fucking shit when she's just a pretty or as dull or ugly or skinny as the next girl. All she was to Sasuke was a free fuck. That's all she was."

"Now who are you really trying to convince here Sakura," Temari questioned, raising and amused eyebrow. "Me or are you trying to convince yourself."

A short lived chuckle of laughter came from Sakura. "Probably neither of us. I just don't like her, never have liked her. She always wanted on my boyfriend, well ex boyfriend now."

"Well if she was a free fuck to Sasuke, your boyfriend or ex boyfriend now, then what were you to him? Several free fucks. Because I am sorry to say this sweetie but if he cheated on you so easily and carefree, I doubt Ino was the first. She was just the first who publicized it. Or that's what I am thinking."

Sakura gapped at Temari, she knew that Temari was never one to be afraid to speak her mind but she never thought that Temari would be this straight forward with Sakura. It was almost mind blowing to Sakura that she was speaking in the manner that she was speaking. "Well," she started to protest, but thinking back at it she had slept with Sasuke two weeks after they started dating. And she had given him a blowjob the night that they started dating. She guessed that she had been so desperately dying for his attention that she had been willing to do anything to get him to like her back. And he never had liked her back the same way that she had liked him. "I suppose so, but he wouldn't date me for a year, there had to have been a reason he kept me around."

The blonde older woman shrugged her narrow shoulders, tapping her cigarette on the side of the picnic table, letting the ashes fall to the ground. "Why to men do what they do Sakura. No one but them will ever fully understand the way that they think."

"Is that why you are single and have not been since the dark ages," Sakura said jokingly, knowing that Temari was not one that was really into dating.

Temari laughed for a moment, the shook her head. "Actually I am seeing someone, not really his girlfriend but we've went out a few times."

"Who," Sakura said surprised, but not all that surprised, Temari was a pretty woman that could hold her own in the dating world, but Sakura was still a little shocked that she was going out with someone. "Do I know him? Does he work here?"

"Yes and no. You do know him; I think you should at least. And no, he doesn't work here. And I am not going to tell you because your mouth his fairly big and I don't want to have Airi and Yuuki gossiping about it until the cows come home for everyone to know about my personal life. Plus he almost begged me not to tell anyone because, well I am a fair bit younger than him."

"How much is younger?"

"Well he claims that I am only ten years younger but I know that it's more like fifteen," she answered, taking another drag of her cigarette. "But age is but a number, younger or older it doesn't matter."

Sakura tapped her cigarette on the side of the table again. "Maybe," she said, thinking about Tenten's parents, they were split by eleven years or so and the two were still happy. "I just hope I find someone that makes me smile, someone that I actually want to be with. I mean, Gaara, no offense, Shikamaru and Sasuke, I don't think that any of them really wanted to be with Haurno Sakura, I think they just wanted a pretty girl. Well maybe Lee really wanted to be with me but I didn't want to be with him."

"Maybe so, but you're never really going to know who is right for you and who's not unless you go out there and try to find out right?"

"I guess," Sakura agreed half heartedly. She tossed her cigarette down, stepping on it with the heel of her foot before taking another cigarette out of the carton. "It's going to be a long day," she laughed with Temari as she lit her second cigarette.

---

She wanted to get wasted. Hammered. Whatever she could.

Sakura stumbled a little bit, laughing as she grabbed the arm of a thin, pale girl who held a cigarette in one hand and a can of beer in the other. The girl shook her off, swearing at Sakura under her breath. "Get away from me you fucking loser."

"Whoa, someone is a bitch," Sakura said, grunting and talking a drink of her drink, vodka and lemon juice. It was sour, and it ran down her throat quickly. Filling her with empty and temporary happiness. It was her fourth cup of 'temporary happiness' tonight, or in the past hour and a half. She looked around, drinking and drinking some more. She reached into her purse, pulling her cigarettes and taking one for herself. She lit it. She stuck her carton of cigarette back into her purse.

Someone grabbed her ass. Sakura squeaked a little and turned to face him. A smile crossing her face. "Hello handsome," she cooed at the man, getting on her tip toes to whisper something dirty in his ear.

The man laughed, his hands finding their way to her back and slowly moving down to try and slide his fingers underneath her belt. "I know where we could be alone."

Sakura let out a laugh, taking a drink of her vodka. "Alone, with you," she pondered, slowly backing away from him. She placed her cigarette to her mouth, inhaling and exhaling. "Baby this is what I think," she said, taking some of her drink into her mouth. She stepped closer to him.

He leaned down, as if he was going in for a kiss. And Sakura then spit her drink out in his face. "You little bitch!" He yelled, he almost looked like he was going to smack her. "Why don't you take your prude ass somewhere else."

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him, laughing. She felt someone grab her wrist, they were tugging her along. Pushing and shoving through the crowd. "Let go of me!" Sakura started. She was scared, but most of all just drunk. She tripped as they lead her outside. "Tenten," Sakura confirmed, pulling her wrist away when they were outside, "why are you here?"

"Bringing your ass home Sakura. God damn it," she looked at her best friend, shaking her head. "I called you three times in the past ten minutes. Then I almost called the police when Temari called me and told me that she dropped you off down here."

The pink haired girl raised her glass to her lips and just shrugged her shoulders as she downed the rest of her drink. She through the glass down on the ground, she was angry. The glass broke into pieces. "You're so damn lucky I didn't throw that at you fucking ugly ass face," Sakura grumbled at her friend. She placed the cigarette to her mouth again.

Tenten looked hurt for a moment, then nodded her head. "Sakura, nothing you say right now, is going to make sense. You're clearly drunk. We need to go home. Now."

"No. I'm not going back to my bitch of a mother's house. No fucking way Tenten. You're smoken—" she was cut off, bending over and holding her hand to her face. She began to throw up, into her hand and on the grass. Sakura started to cry. "This is all his fault, his fault."

Tenten ran her fingers through her long brown hair. She took out her cell phone. "Hey, I need your help Shika. Sakura is drunk. Throwing—we're on… tenth and Koi's house. Thanks. I mean I could drive but, I talked since it's only a few streets down. And she is way too far gone—thanks." She closed her cell phone. "I forgive you Sakura."

"But I didn't do anything wrong," Sakura sobbed, throwing up again only a few seconds later.

"Of course not sweetie, I know," Tenten mumbled, grabbing Sakura's hair and pulling it away from her face.

---

It had been almost a week and three days since Sakura had last spoken to her mother, school was going to start in two days. Although Sakura never really liked talking to her mother or even liked her mother at all, it was still hard with her mother not wanting her around it made her feel like she was unwanted and no one really wanted her the same way that she wanted them. Sakura was currently sitting on the couch in Tenten's living room, Tenten was on the floor, sitting so her back was against the couch so Sakura was able to braid her hair.

"I am not looking forward to school," Tenten groaned as her best friend continued to braid her long and thick brown hair. "I mean sure the people are great I just love the summer too much to want to give it up."

Sakura nodded her head in agreement, not that her best friend would be able to see her nodding her head in agreement. She continued to braid Tenten's hair, her long, thin fingers working swiftly as she worked. "Yeah it's easier to meet new people and talk to people that you never see during the school year. Don't get me wrong the summer is great I just love the people at school. Well most of them I suppose. I guess I am kind of neutral on this one."

Tenten changed the channel that they were watching, changing it to a channel with some reality show that Sakura enjoyed watching because it made her life feel a lot less fucked up then theirs

Sakura never thought when she was a little girl that her parents would get split up. She often times thought that she would get a little sibling to play with, but no such little sibling came. She often times thought that she would have a mother that would braid her hair or gossip with her about boys, but her mother never said more than a few words of encouragement to Sakura. She knew that her life wasn't all that bad, her father had loved her more then she could have ever hoped for. But he was gone now because her mother wanted it that way. Sakura never understood why her mother wanted Sakura when her parents divorced. It was uncommon for the father to get full rights to the kids, but Sakura's mother never really paid much attention to her. To her mother she was just something she could gain value off of, like old china or a house. Sakura was really nothing to her mother at all.

Nothing. That was all she was.

And she longed to be someone. She didn't care who, she just wanted to be somebody.

* * *

Yuck, this chapter was sloppy. I just wanted to introduce characters and such. Trust me the next chapter will be loads better.


End file.
